Place names are fun!!! Mark Monmonier is right. Place names tell us something about the past, about past occupants of a site, the layering of history, about prejudice, hatred for other [even if we do not want to acknowledge that]. That is important, even if it is sometimes inconvenient. And there is so much complexity. I like this rather funny California example--the powerless using their knowledge and turning the tables on their oppressors: "LOLETA (loh LEE tuh) [Humboldt Co.]. Residents in 1893 sought a name from the local Wiyot Indian language. An elderly Indian jokingly told them that the site was called hóš wiwítak , “let’s have sex!”—the latter part of which was garbled as Loleta." Bright, William. 1500 California Place Names : Their Origins and Meaning - A Revised Version of 1000 California Place Names by Erwin G. Gudde, University of California Press, 1998. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/berkeley-ebooks/detail.action?docID=860285 . Created from berkeley-ebooks on 2019-04-01 12:28:41. --Heiko Heiko Mühr Map Metadata and Curatorial Specialist Earth Sciences & Map Library 50 McCone Hall University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 [log in to unmask] (510) 643-9350 On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 12:04 PM Coombs, Jim <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > This reminds me that a couple of years ago, my female student assistant > and I did an inventory/weeding of USGS 1:24,00 topos. She read the names > while I thumbed through the maps. It got embarrassing with names in the > western states like these in Mark’s book. > > > > Jim > > > > *Jim Coombs* > > *Maps & GIS Librarian* > > *Missouri State University* > > *Springfield, MO 65897* > > *(417) 836-4534* > > *[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>* > > > > > > > > On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 1:33 PM John A Olson <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > I’ll reference Mark Monmonier’s book here since he wrote about this exact > thing in 2006. > > > > From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow : how maps name, claim, and inflame / > Mark Monmonier. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2006. > > > > > > *John A. Olson* > > Librarian for Government and Geo-Information > > 358 E.S. Bird Library > > *t* 315.443.4818 > > [log in to unmask] > > > > *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> *On Behalf > Of *Ratliff, Louise > > > *Sent:* Monday, April 1, 2019 12:15 PM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* Re: Outdated/Culturally Insensitive Maps and Atlases > > > > There are so many politically-incorrect place names on our maps of > California, I can’t count them! I certainly want these important cultural > artifacts to remain in our collection; they reflect the history of our > state and are valuable for that reason alone. > > > > Best, > > Louise > > > > Louise Ratliff > > Map Cataloger > > UCLA > > Sent from Louise's iPad > > > On Apr 1, 2019, at 3:34 AM, Brad Elbein <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > I'm just a map-loving hanger on to this list serve, not one of you Map > Librarians. But I'm horrified by this idea: de-accessioning the > embarassing documents " so the casual user does not stumble across it?" > Don't we as an Enlightenment-evolved culture *want* "casual users" to > stumble across things that will make them uncomfortable and make them ask > questions? It seems to me that such an accident serves two purposes: (1) > It makes the stumblers uncomfortably aware that there were other people and > ideas here before them and (2) it makes them aware that they are very > likely every bit as benighted as the past generations, but just don't know > it yet ... and might want to be humble about knowing "the truth." > > > > I've been thinking lately that the biggest problem with the > electronic-ization of knowledge is that there are always governments that > will want to control knowledge, and the electronic storage of knowledge > makes it so much easier to do away with what's inconvenient for that > government. Librarians and libraries in the liberal democracies are the > bulwarks against that. And here we're going to self-sensor out of fear > that someone might "casually stumble" across some map and ... and what? > Have a heart attack and die? Burn the library down? Go to the Board of > Regents? I mean, please. Why would you do the devils work for him? > > > > Brad > > > > *Caveat Lector: I dictate a lot of my e-mails and can't always go back > and edit, so sometimes they come out as gibberish. Autocomplete also > sometimes thinks that I'm speaking Spanish and inserts inapposite words. > Rest assured it's the software, not creeping dementia.* > > > > > > On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 8:38 PM Julie Sweetkind-Singer < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Kathy, > > > > I think this is absolutely the role of our university libraries to present > all points of view. That's what's needed to conduct serious research. I > treat them as I would any other item and keep them on the shelves with > everything else. I remove things I think will be vandalized or stolen, but > all else stays. The most flagrant vandalism we've had are on two large > globes at the main library where the students are fighting as to the naming > of the Sea of Japan by scratching out what's on the globe and writing in > their preferred names. Interesting to watch, but I wish they wouldn't > deface the globes. (These are about 6 feet tall and so hard to store > anywhere other than where they are now.) > > > > Best, > > > > Julie > > > > **** > > Julie Sweetkind-Singer > > Assistant Director of Geospatial and Cartographic Services > > Head, Branner Earth Sciences Map Library & Map Collections > > 397 Panama Mall, 2nd floor > <https://maps.google.com/?q=397+Panama+Mall,+2nd+floor+%0D%0A+Stanford&entry=gmail&source=g> > > Stanford > <https://maps.google.com/?q=397+Panama+Mall,+2nd+floor+%0D%0A+Stanford&entry=gmail&source=g> > University > > Stanford, CA 94305 > > 650-725-1102 > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> on behalf > of Kathy Stroud <[log in to unmask]> > *Sent:* Friday, March 29, 2019 10:44 AM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* Outdated/Culturally Insensitive Maps and Atlases > > > > All, > > > > Not sure if we’ve had a discussion about this before. However, it’s coming > up in my mind as I’m contemplating weeding our atlas collection. (At this > point I’m mostly looking at duplicates, since all the old reference atlases > from branch libraries seem to have been transferred to the main library.) > > > > Perhaps you could share any institutional guidance you have or merely your > collective wisdom from over the years. > > > > We have a significant collection of 19th and 20th century atlases. Since > we have a strong cartography component in our Geography department, I think > it is important to keep these. On a personal level, I also think it’s > important as a cultural record of how our society previously viewed the > world. However, some of the portrayals of the culture of non-Euro-American > areas of the world are offensive to people. (I’m currently looking at a > 1944 “Atlas of Global Geography.” I had not realized that in 1944 > bushman/hottentot was one of the races of mankind.) > > > > How do you treat older cartographic (and geography) materials that contain > outdated, offensive viewpoints? > > > > 1) Transfer to a mediated access area (such as special collections) > so the casual user does not stumble across it? > > 2) Keep in general, circulating shelves along with modern materials > to hint that they should be taken in historical context? > > 3) Deaccession? > > 4) Ignore issue and hope no one else raises it? > > > > Working in an academic setting, I am for keeping at least a sampling of > “objectionable” materials and against censoring what we consider > embarrassing aspects of our history. How we talk about race has evolved > significantly even in my lifetime, but if we don’t understand our past, how > can we understand where we are now and where we want to go? > > > > This issue with older atlases and other cartographic materials reminds me > a lot of how geographers do and don’t deal with “environmental > determinism.” In graduate school, there always seems to be an awkward > discussion about environmental determinism when studying the history of > geography. It’s along the lines of … er, we don’t really believe this > theory anymore, it was popular among geographers over 100 years ago, you > should know about it so you understand how it influences modern geography, > but we don’t really talk about it because it’s embarrassing. > > > > Any thoughts for a Friday? > > > > > > Kathy Stroud > > *David and Nancy Petrone* Map/GIS Librarian Knight Library > > 1299 University of Oregon > > Eugene, OR 97403-1299 > > 541-346-3051 > > > > “A map is not just a picture—it’s also the data behind the map, the > methodology used to collect and parse that data, the people doing that > work, the choices made in terms of visualization and the software used to > make them.” > > > >